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Community Barn Sale Sets Record

Posted on Friday, May 30, 2014

The eighth annual HWS Community Barn Sale was a record-breaking event this year, raising $8,152 for the United Way of Ontario County and the Geneva 2020 Initiative. Since 2006, the Barn Sale has raised over $47,000 for the community.

HWS students, faculty, and staff, as well as Geneva High School students in the New Visions program, sorted through hundreds of items donated by the HWS and Geneva communities and also worked during the sale, which was held on Thursday, May 22. The sale drew hundreds of people throughout the day.

"The barn sale was a tremendous success," says Jeremy Wattles, assistant director of the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning (CCESL). "I'm glad we can support both the United Way and Geneva 2020 in their efforts to strengthen our community and region."

In addition to raising money for the community, the barn sale was also an effort to reduce the amount of trash being put into landfills by giving items that would otherwise being thrown away a "second home." E-waste was also collected to be recycled and properly disposed as a part of the Colleges' sustainability efforts.

"The barn sale is a great way to raise awareness for recycling while also raising money for local charities such as Geneva 2020," says Sam Solomon '17, who worked the barn sale. "All of the HWS student workers, along with the volunteers from Geneva high school, are extremely proud to have broken last years record by more than $2,000."

The Barn Sale also provided area high school students with the opportunity to make connections with HWS students and each other. Emily Taegder-Vrooman from Geneva High School says the sale was a great experience because it was the perfect way to get involved.

“The HWS students seemed so appreciative of our help and were so nice, which made the experience even that much more enjoyable,” says Emily Knipper, a student from Midlakes High School in Clifton Springs, N.Y., who volunteered at the event.

Amanda Webb, a Waterloo High School student, was enthusiastic about the environmental impact of the sale. “I would definitely consider organizing something like this when I go to school to raise money and save the planet,” she says.

The Geneva 2020 initiative is rooted in the collective impact model aimed at ensuring that high school students in the local community have the skills necessary to graduate from high school and to effectively pursue a career or further college education. The program has already helped move the local high school graduation rate from 70 percent in 2010 to 82 percent in 2013, and to increase the number of local high school students entering college from 74 percent in 2009 to 76 percent in 2013.

The Community Barn Sale is sponsored by the CCESL, the Office of Sustainability, Residential Education, and the Division of Student Affairs.